The gardens are pretty much shut down for the year and the pace of our work has slowed a bit. Not because there’s less to do, per se, but mostly because we get kind of lost in the transition from the growing season to the … not …. growing season. Our weeks are still divided into CSA and market days (and bake days), but the intervening days aren’t also filled with harvesting so we can get back to fixing things (like our front door knob that has been sticking for over a year and needed only — it turns out — a couple drops of oil). Last week was the first time in probably six months that I found myself actually thinking that I had enough time to take on another project.

All of our fields are cover cropped; late, late crops are covered with reemay; garlic beds are prepped and being planted; our tomato hoophouse has been emptied of tools and plants and awaits deconstruction; deer fence has been taken down; hens have been moved to their winter area; and irrigation equipment has been collected and put away. Aside from planting and mulching garlic and doing a little bit more pickup, we’re just about caught up.

Egg shares are done. It feels like the egg thing is still so new to us, and yet here we are at the end of the egg shares. Egg shareholders had signed for 10 weeks of eggs and, as of last week, we’re there. The first eggs went out on August 4th, and October 20th is 12 weeks later. (Remember that we missed two weeks because they had stopped laying.) A full share of eggs was valued at $50 way back before we had any real data to work with. (That’s $5/dozen for 10 weeks.) The first week was valued low (at $4.25/dozen) because so many of the eggs were still small pullet eggs. Towards the end, though, we realized that $5/dozen just wasn’t enough to make it work, so we bumped our retail price to $6, and then $7/doz. Anyway, last weeks eggs were valued at $6/doz and that brought the overall value of eggs given to full egg shareholders to $50.25 … pretty much right on the nose. (For the curious, keep an eye out for our Annual Report later in the season. We’ll go into the details of some of our accounting and pricing standards in there. Suffice it to say, though, that it ain’t cheap to raise certified organic, pastured hens.)

Only one week left. The last share will be November 3rd — next week! Please remember to bring back any extra tote bags that might be kicking around the house. (Remember, though, that you get to keep one.)

Detailed share information, notes about the veggies, storage tips and recipe tips are all inside the full post.

All shares contain:

• red and golden Beets (from South Paw Farm, Unity, ME – a new farm (first year!) run by a MOFGA Journeyperson – grown “organically”, but not certified)
• Winter Luxury pie pumpkin
• Leeks
• white and yellow Carrots

“Full” shares also contain:

• more Beets
• more Carrots
• Garlic
• Broccoli
• Shallots

Bread shares: no bread this week

Veggie Notes

Beets – Beets are a wonderful winter crop that’s gotten a bad rap after how many millions of tons of them have been boiled and boiled and boiled to death (or mush). There’s nothing wrong with boiling them, per se, but if you don’t like them like that then you’ve probably never gone out of your way to have them any other way. As with most root veggies, we like to roast our beets. This doesn’t wash away any nutrients, and it preserves some of their toothsome texture. Beets can sometimes be bitter, but most of this bitterness resides in the skin and can be removed by peeling.

Winter Luxury pumpkins – A few squashes might vie for the title “Queen of Squash” (Musquee de Provence and Galeux d’Eysine come to mind) and Winter Luxury would certainly be among them. As ornamental as it is edible, it’s mottled, bumpy skin is beautiful and should earn it a place in the center of your table for the next few weeks or month. (For a squash, it doesn’t keep very well; only lasting into December or perhaps January if you’re lucky.) Once you’re done admiring it’s beauty, you’ll get to enjoy its wonderful flesh. Though it’s slightly sweet, the real attraction is it’s creamy texture — not tough or stringy — that almost purees itself. Perfect for pies, muffins, etc. And remember that that puree freezes well, so you don’t have to go pie crazy all at once.

Carrots – These are in fact carrots (not parsnips) and are best suited to cooking. In fact, I’ve included our favorite carrot soup recipe below.

Storage Notes

Store beets, carrots, broccoli and leeks in a plastic bag in the fridge. Pumpkins and Garlic are fine on the counter with no bag. Note too that the beets and carrots can keep for months; the leeks, garlic and pumpkin can keep for weeks.

Recipe Ideas

Beets – for us, the simplest possible recipe for beets is also one of the yummiest: cook up your beets (roast or boil) and sprinkle them with little crumbles of a good goat cheese, like chevre. The sweet, slightly bitter beets are complemented perfectly by the smooth, creamy, tangy cheese. Bonus points if you also mix in some caramelized onions with the beets.

Broccoli – Kendra and I had some of this last night chopped up and stir fried with the sauce from the Ginger Sesame Stir Fried Greens recipe. It was great!

Carrot Soup with Nutmeg
This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated originally, but we found an online version on another farm website and we’ve made a few modifications. It’s a simple, classic and totally delicious carrot soup.

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium onion, or 3 shallots, or 1 medium leek; chopped
2 Tbsp dry sherry or white wine
1 1?2 lb carrots (8 medium); peeled, halved lengthwise ans sliced thin
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, or just water
1 tsp salt
ground white pepper
a pinch nutmeg; freshly grated if possible
1 1?4 cup whole milk
2 tsp fresh herbs: tarragon, mint, chives, or parsley; finely chopped

1. Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion (or shallot or leek) and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Ladle carrot mixture into blender. (Or just use an immersion blender right in the pan.) Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.)

4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced fresh herb and serve immediately.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems. Also, please send along any recipes you’d like to share.

We hope you enjoy the share!